Yet another Apple product under fire these days

May 31, 2016 10:00 GMT  ·  By

Apple’s chief executives most likely want to get past the first half of 2016 as quickly as possible, as most of the news making the headlines lately points to dropping sales and interest in several of its key products.

After iPhone shipments dropped in Q1 for the first time since the launch of the device, the Apple Watch is also experiencing declining interest, this time from a community that’s critical to the future of the product.

Developers are no longer building apps for the Apple Watch, according to Realm, a company whose database is being used by no less than 100,000 developers coding for Apple products.

Recent statistics have shown that fewer developers are willing to build an app for Apple’s Watch, and they have a good reason for this: all apps are iPhone-dependent, meaning that they need a phone to work. Unless a change in this regard takes place, interest is very likely to remain low, Realm execs say.

“On a weekly basis we're seeing very few Watch apps, compared to iOS apps,” Tim Anglade, an app developer and VP for mobile database Realm, explains. “For every 1,000 new iOS apps being built, there are 10 tvOS apps and maybe 1 Watch app.”

Revenue generated by Apple Watch apps also appears to be low, so there’s little chance to see developers investing more in this device. There are hopes that Apple would introduce independent apps on the Watch in the coming updates, with such news expected to be unveiled at WWDC next month, but as it happens with everything Apple, it’s better not to hold your breath for this.

Strong sales for the Apple Watch

And yet, the Apple Watch is still doing well in terms of sales, as Q1 statistics have shown that it managed to become the top smartwatch on the market with no less than 1.5 million sold units. Fitbit and Xiaomi, however, still remained the leaders with no less than 4.8 million and 3.7 million sold units, respectively.

At this point, Fitbit has 24.5 percent of the wearables market while Xiaomi is second with 19 percent. Apple comes third with 7.5 percent.

And yet, if you’re asking the most demanding Apple Watch users, there’s a lot more to improve on the device. First and foremost, it’s the customization options that need to be overhauled, as the Watch is a rather limited device when it comes to such settings.

Then, there are only a few faces available, and Apple hasn’t even introduced new ones in the latest updates, so once again, possibilities in this regard are very limited. More things could change with watchOS 3, and next month’s WWDC is again hoped to be the moment when Apple would finally share some good news in this regard.

Wearables sales in Q1 2016
Wearables sales in Q1 2016

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Wearables sales in Q1 2016
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